API Endpoint Skill

Create new REST API endpoints with proper validation, error handling, authentication, and tests.

When to Use

•Adding new REST API endpoint
•Creating CRUD operations
•Implementing search/filter endpoints
•Adding authentication routes

Do NOT use when:

•Just modifying existing endpoint (edit directly)
•Creating GraphQL (use different skill)
•Adding WebSocket (use different skill)

Inputs

Required

•HTTP method: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.
•Path: URL pattern
•Purpose: What does this endpoint do?
•Schema: Request/response models

Optional

•Auth: Authentication requirements
•Rate limiting: Public vs private
•Pagination: For list endpoints

Steps

Step 1: Define Schema

What to do: Create Pydantic models for request/response.

Code Pattern:

python

# src/api/schemas.py
from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
from typing import Optional, List
from datetime import datetime

class UserCreate(BaseModel):
    """Request model for creating user."""
    email: str = Field(..., description="User email address")
    name: str = Field(..., min_length=1, max_length=100)
    
    class Config:
        json_schema_extra = {
            "example": {
                "email": "user@example.com",
                "name": "John Doe"
            }
        }

class UserResponse(BaseModel):
    """Response model for user."""
    id: int
    email: str
    name: str
    created_at: datetime
    
    class Config:
        from_attributes = True  # For SQLAlchemy models

class UserListResponse(BaseModel):
    """Response model for user list."""
    items: List[UserResponse]
    total: int
    page: int
    page_size: int

Validation:

• Request model validates input
• Response model excludes sensitive fields
• Examples provided in schema
• Types are correct

Step 2: Create Endpoint

What to do: Implement route handler with business logic.

Code Pattern:

python

# src/api/endpoints/users.py
from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Query, status
from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
from typing import List, Optional

from src.api.schemas import UserCreate, UserResponse, UserListResponse
from src.api.deps import get_db, get_current_user
from src.models.user import User
from src.services.user import create_user, get_user, list_users

router = APIRouter(prefix="/users", tags=["users"])

@router.post(
    "",
    response_model=UserResponse,
    status_code=status.HTTP_201_CREATED,
    summary="Create new user",
    description="Create a new user account with email and name."
)
async def create_user_endpoint(
    user_data: UserCreate,
    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
    current_user: User = Depends(get_current_user)  # If auth required
):
    """
    Create a new user.
    
    - **email**: Valid email address (unique)
    - **name**: Display name (1-100 chars)
    
    Returns created user with ID.
    """
    # Check if email exists
    existing = db.query(User).filter(User.email == user_data.email).first()
    if existing:
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=status.HTTP_409_CONFLICT,
            detail="Email already registered"
        )
    
    # Create user
    user = create_user(db, user_data)
    return user

@router.get(
    "",
    response_model=UserListResponse,
    summary="List users",
    description="Get paginated list of users."
)
async def list_users_endpoint(
    page: int = Query(1, ge=1, description="Page number"),
    page_size: int = Query(20, ge=1, le=100, description="Items per page"),
    search: Optional[str] = Query(None, description="Search by name"),
    db: Session = Depends(get_db)
):
    """
    List users with pagination and optional search.
    
    - **page**: Page number (1-indexed)
    - **page_size**: Results per page (1-100)
    - **search**: Filter by name (optional)
    """
    users, total = list_users(db, page=page, page_size=page_size, search=search)
    
    return UserListResponse(
        items=users,
        total=total,
        page=page,
        page_size=page_size
    )

@router.get(
    "/{user_id}",
    response_model=UserResponse,
    summary="Get user by ID",
    responses={
        404: {"description": "User not found"}
    }
)
async def get_user_endpoint(
    user_id: int,
    db: Session = Depends(get_db)
):
    """Get user details by ID."""
    user = get_user(db, user_id)
    if not user:
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND,
            detail=f"User {user_id} not found"
        )
    return user

@router.put(
    "/{user_id}",
    response_model=UserResponse,
    summary="Update user"
)
async def update_user_endpoint(
    user_id: int,
    user_data: UserCreate,  # Or UserUpdate for partial updates
    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
    current_user: User = Depends(get_current_user)
):
    """Update user details."""
    user = get_user(db, user_id)
    if not user:
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND,
            detail=f"User {user_id} not found"
        )
    
    # Authorization check
    if current_user.id != user_id and not current_user.is_admin:
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN,
            detail="Not authorized to update this user"
        )
    
    updated_user = update_user(db, user_id, user_data)
    return updated_user

@router.delete(
    "/{user_id}",
    status_code=status.HTTP_204_NO_CONTENT,
    summary="Delete user"
)
async def delete_user_endpoint(
    user_id: int,
    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
    current_user: User = Depends(get_current_user)
):
    """Delete user account."""
    user = get_user(db, user_id)
    if not user:
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND,
            detail=f"User {user_id} not found"
        )
    
    if current_user.id != user_id and not current_user.is_admin:
        raise HTTPException(
            status_code=status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN,
            detail="Not authorized to delete this user"
        )
    
    delete_user(db, user_id)
    return None

Validation:

• Router has prefix and tags
• All CRUD operations implemented
• HTTP status codes correct
• Error handling complete
• Auth checks in place

Step 3: Register Router

What to do: Add router to main API application.

Code Pattern:

python

# src/api/main.py
from fastapi import FastAPI
from src.api.endpoints import users, items, auth

app = FastAPI(
    title="My API",
    description="API description",
    version="1.0.0"
)

# Include routers
app.include_router(auth.router)
app.include_router(users.router)
app.include_router(items.router)

# Health check
@app.get("/health")
async def health_check():
    return {"status": "healthy"}

Validation:

• Router imported and included
• Order correct (auth before protected routes)
• No path conflicts

Step 4: Add Tests

What to do: Write comprehensive tests for endpoint.

Code Pattern:

python

# tests/api/test_users.py
import pytest
from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
from src.api.main import app

client = TestClient(app)

class TestCreateUser:
    """Tests for POST /users"""
    
    def test_create_user_success(self, db_session):
        """Test successful user creation."""
        response = client.post(
            "/users",
            json={"email": "test@example.com", "name": "Test User"}
        )
        assert response.status_code == 201
        data = response.json()
        assert data["email"] == "test@example.com"
        assert data["name"] == "Test User"
        assert "id" in data
    
    def test_create_user_duplicate_email(self, db_session):
        """Test error on duplicate email."""
        # Create first user
        client.post("/users", json={"email": "dup@example.com", "name": "User 1"})
        
        # Try to create second with same email
        response = client.post("/users", json={"email": "dup@example.com", "name": "User 2"})
        assert response.status_code == 409
        assert "already registered" in response.json()["detail"]
    
    def test_create_user_invalid_email(self):
        """Test validation of email format."""
        response = client.post("/users", json={"email": "not-an-email", "name": "Test"})
        assert response.status_code == 422  # Validation error

class TestListUsers:
    """Tests for GET /users"""
    
    def test_list_users_pagination(self, db_session):
        """Test pagination works correctly."""
        # Create test users
        for i in range(25):
            client.post("/users", json={"email": f"user{i}@test.com", "name": f"User {i}"})
        
        # Get first page
        response = client.get("/users?page=1&page_size=10")
        assert response.status_code == 200
        data = response.json()
        assert len(data["items"]) == 10
        assert data["total"] == 25
        assert data["page"] == 1

class TestGetUser:
    """Tests for GET /users/{id}"""
    
    def test_get_user_success(self, db_session):
        """Test getting existing user."""
        # Create user
        create_response = client.post("/users", json={"email": "get@test.com", "name": "Get Test"})
        user_id = create_response.json()["id"]
        
        # Get user
        response = client.get(f"/users/{user_id}")
        assert response.status_code == 200
        assert response.json()["email"] == "get@test.com"
    
    def test_get_user_not_found(self):
        """Test 404 for non-existent user."""
        response = client.get("/users/99999")
        assert response.status_code == 404

Validation

Success Criteria

• Schema models created and validated
• Endpoint implements full CRUD
• Error handling comprehensive
• Auth checks where needed
• Tests cover happy path and edge cases
• Documentation in docstrings

Verification Commands

bash

# Run tests
uv run pytest tests/api/test_users.py -v

# Check coverage
uv run pytest --cov=src/api/endpoints/users --cov-report=term-missing

# Test API manually
uv run uvicorn src.api.main:app --reload
# Visit http://localhost:8000/docs

Rollback

If Endpoint Has Issues

python

# Temporarily disable endpoint
@router.post("", include_in_schema=False)  # Hide from docs
async def create_user_endpoint(...):
    raise HTTPException(status_code=503, detail="Temporarily unavailable")
    # Or return old behavior

Remove Endpoint

•Remove router registration from main.py
•Delete endpoint file
•Remove tests
•Update API documentation

Common Mistakes

•No input validation: Always use Pydantic models
•Missing auth checks: Check permissions on every endpoint
•No pagination: List endpoints must be paginated
•Wrong status codes: 201 for create, 204 for delete, etc.
•Exposing internal errors: Don't return stack traces
•No rate limiting: Add rate limits for public endpoints

Related Skills

•Database Migration: If endpoint needs new tables
•Test Writer: For comprehensive test patterns
•Doc Writer: For API documentation

Examples

Example 1: Search Endpoint

Pattern: Complex filtering with query parameters

python

@router.get("/search", response_model=ItemListResponse)
async def search_items(
    q: Optional[str] = Query(None, description="Search query"),
    category: Optional[str] = Query(None),
    min_price: Optional[float] = Query(None, ge=0),
    max_price: Optional[float] = Query(None, ge=0),
    sort_by: str = Query("created_at", regex="^(created_at|price|name)$"),
    sort_order: str = Query("desc", regex="^(asc|desc)$"),
    page: int = Query(1, ge=1),
    page_size: int = Query(20, ge=1, le=100)
):
    """Search items with filters."""
    pass

Example 2: File Upload

Pattern: Handle multipart/form-data

python

from fastapi import UploadFile, File

@router.post("/upload")
async def upload_file(file: UploadFile = File(...)):
    """Upload and process file."""
    contents = await file.read()
    # Process file
    return {"filename": file.filename, "size": len(contents)}

Remember: Document your endpoints well - they are your API contract!

api-endpoint

API Endpoint Skill

When to Use

Inputs

Required

Optional

Steps

Step 1: Define Schema

Step 2: Create Endpoint

Step 3: Register Router

Step 4: Add Tests

Validation

Success Criteria

Verification Commands

Rollback

If Endpoint Has Issues

Remove Endpoint

Common Mistakes

Related Skills

Links

Examples

Example 1: Search Endpoint

Example 2: File Upload